We live in the Anthropocene, a geological epoch where humans are the dominant influence on climate and the environment. The past century has witnessed rapid environmental changes including climate change, depletion of resources, land use change, deforestation, overfishing, and pollution. Even naturally occurring environmental disasters such as hurricanes, earthquakes, tornadoes, flooding, wildfires, and droughts are increasing in intensity and frequency as a result of human activity. Despite scientific consensus on the root causes, environmental change remains a politically tense debate in which certain groups are unwilling to accept human responsibility or to sacrifice short-term economic benefits over long-term sustainability. Environmental sociology seeks to understand human impact on the environment and how environmental change affects human populations.